Festival Stakes Preview
The Festival Stakes is a Group 3 quality handicap event for 3yo & upward gallopers and takes place in December at Rosehill racecourse in Sydney, New South Wales. The race is run over a distance of 1500 metres and worth $160,000 in prize money. The 2019 Festival Stakes was won by Ranier from Live And Free with Cellarman third.
A listed race over 1400 metres up until 2015, the Festival Stakes was awarded Group 3 status for the 2016-2017 racing season and incurred a distance increase to 1500 metres.
Festival Stakes info
| Date: | Saturday 27th November 2021 |
| Track: | Rosehill racecourse, Sydney |
| Distance: | 1500 metres |
| Race Type: | Quality Handicap |
| Status: | Group 3 |
| Prize Money: | $160,000 |
| 2019 Winner: | Ranier |
The Festival Stakes is raced under handicap conditions and provides the perfect lead up to the Gr2 Villiers Stakes at Randwick. The last galloper to achieve the Festival Stakes & Villiers Stakes double was Monton (2011), with Utson (2006) and Ike's Dream (2004) prior to that.
A more than handy field will generally assemble for this race with winners and placegetters likely to figure in similar type races over the Christmas period.
It's worth noting that recent winners Mighty Lucky (2015) and I'm Imposing (2014) both went on to win the Gr3 Summer Cup on Boxing Day at Randwick after running fifth and second respectively in the Villiers Stakes beforehand.
My Nordic Hero (2018) ran second in the November Hcp over 1400m at Rosehill before scoring a stylish victory in this event for the Chris Waller stable.
Recent Festival Stakes winners include Testashadow (2017), who incidentally finished unplaced in the November Hcp before winning here, and Sweet Redemption (2016).
2019 Festival Stakes result
1. $6.00 Ranier 53.0 Ms Kathy O'Hara
2. $8.00 Live And Free 53.5 Brenton Avdulla
3. $26.00 Cellarman 59.0 Hugh Bowman
then followed
4. $12.00 Invincible Gem 59.0 Ms Rachel King
5. $15.00 Siren's Fury 55.0 Tim Clark
6. $6.00 Bobbing 53.0 James Innes Jnr
7. $7.50 Renewal 57.5 Tommy Berry
8. $91.00 Hogmanay 53.0 Jay Ford
9. $101.00 Mr Garcia 55.0 Christian Reith
10. $14.00 Sambro 56.5 James McDonald
11. $7.50 Moss Trip 57.0 Nash Rawiller
12. $51.00 Testashadow 53.0 Deanne Panya
13. $6.50 Don't Give A Damn 54.0 Glyn Schofield
Margins: 0.1 len, 1.8 len
Time: 1:29.46
Bet now on the Festival Stakes
We recommended Unibet for the best Festival Stakes odds.
Terms & conditions apply - Always gamble responsibly.
Festival Stakes winners & placegetters
| Year | Winner | 2nd | 3rd | Time |
| 2019 | Ranier | Live And Free | Cellarman | 1:29.4 |
| 2018 | My Nordic Hero | Goodfella | Chamois Road | 1:29.1 |
| 2017 | Testashadow | Mister Sea Wolf | Red Excitement | 1:31.6 |
| 2016 | Sweet Redemption | Hazzabeel | Red Excitement | 1:29.6 |
| 2015 | Mighty Lucky | It's Somewhat | Peace Force | 1:29.4 |
| 2014 | I'm Imposing | Estonian Princess | Strawberry Boy | 1:28.5 |
| 2013 | White Sage | Terravista | Alma's Fury | 1:30.0 |
Recommended Bookmakers
* Conditions apply to all bookmaker offers
Online Betting Guide
Learn how to choose an online bookmaker, open an account, deposit funds, place a bet and collect your winnings.
Find out how bookmaker percentages allow bookies to frame a betting market to gain an edge over punters.
Learn how to price a horse race and set your own odds by framing your own betting market.
What are the different types of racing bets? Learn about the most common horse racing bet types available in Australia.
What is a form guide? Find out how to read and understand a horse racing form guide.
Looking for racing terminology, lingo or slang? Our horse racing glossary explains common terms and sayings.
What is the shortest distance a horse can win by? Horse racing winning margins and distances explained.
Where to Bet
Unibet Bookmaker
Unibet offers a top racing product with excellent fixed priced odds and unique member promotions. Punters can enjoy more than competitive odds for racing, while racehorse owners can are well catered for too.
Betting with bookmakers is subject to terms and conditions.